Does pollution affect the poorest?

Numerous scientific studies have often shown that the poorest individuals are more affected by respiratory problems and vascular. This new Inserm study published in the medical journal Environment International, reveals that there is a link between poverty and exposure to polluted air.

The researchers carried out this study with 5,692 urban dwellers from 16 major cities in Western Europe.

“For each participant, we used the same criteria to assess their socioeconomic level (NSE): two individual criteria, level of education and socio-professional category, and the unemployment rate of their district of residence,” said Sofia Temam, doctoral student at Inserm, the first author of the study. “And for each, annual exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a pollutant emitted mainly by road traffic, was estimated based on their home address within the framework of the European ESCAPE project “.

City structure involved in exposure to pollution

The results of the study showed that in 11 of the 16 cities analyzed, scientists noted that residents of neighborhoods most affected by unemployment were the most exposed to NO2. In the four French cities studied, residents of neighborhoods with an unemployment rate above 9.5% were exposed annually to 35 µg / m3 of NO2, compared to only 27 µg / m3 in neighborhoods where unemployment was 9. , 5%. The researchers also found that when they take into account the individual criteria of the NSE, the level of studies and the socio-professional category, they do not observe a link between the individual socioeconomic level and exposure to NO2, in almost the majority of cases. cities (14/16).

“The exposure to NO2 of city-dwellers in Western Europe seems to be linked more to the urban characteristics specific to their city and its neighborhoods than to their NSE,” explains Sofia Temam.

But another track has been put forward to understand this link. “Would European city dwellers with a low NSE be more sensitive to the effects of air pollution due to poorer general health (smoking, food, less access to healthcare …)? ”.

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